When a person needs emergency medical assistance, a first responding medical unit (typically referred to as a “first responder”) is dispatched to assist the person with the emergency. First responding medical units are typically mobile medical units, such as paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs), as well as government emergency medical units such as those under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In an emergency situation, first responding medical units are tasked to provide preliminary diagnosis and treatment in order to stabilize patients for subsequent transportation to hospitals, urgent care centers, or other permanent medical facilities (termed herein as “second responding medical units”).
In responding to an emergency, a first responding medical unit typically attempts to obtain as much medical information about the patient in order to assist it in diagnosing and treating the patient. Such medical information typically sought includes the patient's demographic information, in-case-of emergency contact information, health insurance information, primary care information, and patient health information. Generally, a first responding medical unit has a pre-hospital care record (PCR) form or other type of patient medical form in which the first responding medical unit records the patient's medical information. The first responding medical unit typically receives this information directly from the patient.
However, in many emergency medical situations, a patient is unconscious and unable to provide such medical information to the first responding medical unit. And, even if such patient is conscious, the patient may not be able to provide accurate information because of his/her emotional and medical state. In addition, if the patient is able to provide accurate information to the first responding medical unit, the medical unit has to manually enter all that information into a PCR form. Further, when the patient is subsequently transported to a second responding medical unit, a new PCR for the patient may need to be created.